Japan as ‘Belgium’ WTF?!
As Japan is entering its third “Lost Decade” of economic collapse (Wiki), most Japanese pundits have been wishing for ‘Japan as Switzerland’—a shabbily gentil honorable decline into wealthy obscurity,
However, this Japanese bureaucrat’s wetdream is that Japan “has-become-just-like-Belgium” is just huh?
Japan as Belgium
The Diplomat | 2011/08/26 —‘Our country has become just like Belgium,’ a Japanese academic and former government official lamented to me recently. On the surface it might seem an eccentric comparison. But the resignation of yet another prime minister in Japan after just over a year in office underscores the point he was trying to make–both countries have dysfunctional governments.
Belgium has been without a government now for well over 400 days…
…For decades, Japanese have lived with grey, consensus-driven politics revolving around backroom deals, with one short-lived leader after another shying away from tackling the fundamental problems the country faces. …more…
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August 28th, 2011 at 12:55 am
Call me when them japanjin can make decent tchokluts…
August 28th, 2011 at 1:03 am
Hey, at least Japanese choco is better than Cadbury or Hersheys.
August 28th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Confused by all the different styles of meditation along with all the various schools, traditions and sects heaped with ancient jargon that leaves your head spinning? I’ve not too long ago come to concluding that I might ordain as a Buddhist Monk so I can truly target my practice in the atmosphere that is conducive to be able to seriously enjoy the buddhist articles. Perhaps you have went to any temples or Thailand? as well as Burma? you may be astonished just how much admiration they’ve for Buddhist monks over these countries.
August 28th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Bite my buddha, it’s a buttmunch Bhavatanha robo-spam!
September 5th, 2011 at 2:22 am
Belgium might not be the largest country in the world, but I think it is the most impressive. One way you can measure the growth of somewhere is the measure its arts. Belgium blows other places away. I wouldn’t want to spend too much time there, but a year or three would be pretty sweet.